Prom 66: Tchaikovsky/Ellington/Strayhorn/Goodyear, Chineke! Orchestra, Goodyear/Grams

[bluestateprommer]

Sunday 8 September 2024
19:30
Royal Albert Hall

Tchaikovsky (arr. Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn; further arranged and adapted by Jeff Tyzik): The Nutcracker Suite (first performance of this arrangement at The Proms)
Stewart Goodyear: Callaloo – Caribbean Suite for piano and orchestra (first performance at The Proms)
[Encore: Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, op. 83 - III. Precipitato)

Interval

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor (‘Pathétique’), op. 74

Stewart Goodyear, piano (Proms debut artist)
Chineke! Orchestra
Andrew Grams, conductor (Proms debut artist)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ebjgfx

https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-24/prom-66/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022jyt

[bluestateprommer]

Quite the close to this Prom's first half (duly archived above), with Stewart G.'s encore of Prokofiev. His de facto piano concerto is definitely feel-good fun, loads of notes that don't necessarily coalesce into memorable melodies, and considerably too long for its material. But regarded as concertante party music, it does the job. (Curiously, it put me in mind of Hyperion's "Romantic Piano Concerto" series, as sort of a 21st-century equivalent.)

I don't recall ever hearing fully the Ellington and Strayhorn re-working of Tchaikovsky in any context, so this was a "novelty" for me. It is a momentary shock to hear waltz movements morphed into not-waltz movements, for one. All well played by Chineke! throughout (a very few fractional solo blips aside), so now on to big-time seriousness in the 2nd half.

[gedsmk]

The sound engineering on this Prom is insanely great! Stunning clarity, balance, dynamic range. Loving every second of this symphony.